Make no mistake, the AL wild card is still a five-team race. But if you look in the rearview mirror, it's no longer the Rays who are creeping up on the O's -- it's the Angels.

And in this case, objects may be closer than they appear.

You can make the argument that the Angels are the best team in baseball. They haven't played like it all season -- which is why they're just a third-place wild-card team right now -- but they have all the pieces to play deep into October. (Pitching, hitting, speed, defense, guys named Pujols and Trout.)

Now, having won three of their last four, the idle Angels can find themselves within two games of that last playoff spot at the end of tonight.

Here's the problem for L.A.: In their final 15 games, they face Texas six times and play the White Sox three times (their other six games are against Seattle).

That's a much tougher slate than the Orioles', which includes just three more games all season against a team with a winning record (Tampa in the final series).

But, if the Angels really are one of the best teams in baseball, they're going to find a way to win a good chunk of those games and keep the pressure on the Orioles.

It doesn't matter who's chasing them, all the O's can do is keep winning the games in front of them. But, to me, the Angels are a more daunting presence from 2.5 games back than any of the other teams in the hunt.